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Speculates on the likely outcomes in the Feb. 3 Democratic primaries in seven states, including South Carolina, Missouri, Arizona and Oklahoma. Claim that unemployment will dominate the campaigning in South Carolina, which has been crippled by the loss of 28,000 textile jobs over the past five years; Report that the South Carolina primary will offer the first indication of how African Americans are likely to vote; Speculation about native son John Edwards' chances of winning South Carolina, where he is campaigning heavily; Report that Missouri became up for grabs after Dick Gephardt dropped out of the race following the Iowa primary; Claim that the other candidates are now struggling to set up last-minute campaign visits to woo Missouri voters; Details of the Missouri campaigns of Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, and Wesley Clark; Report that Dean has a campaign organization in Arizona, while the other candidates just have bare-bones organizations in the state; Speculation that TV ads for Clark will attract votes in Arizona; Speculation that Arizona's early voting option could help Dean; Claim that the Hispanic population in Arizona is split politically; Report that Clark, Edwards, Dean and Joe Lieberman have been campaigning heavily in Oklahoma, but John Kerry has no staff in the state; Claim that Oklahoma's conservative bent makes the state an ideal proving ground for anyone trying to defeat President George W. Bush; Observation that Clark, an Arkansas native, has the best chance of winning Oklahoma.

Talks about the old luster regained by American baseball brought by Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr.'s home-run records. Impact of the 1994 strike; Attendance record at ball parks; Simplicity symbolized by McGwire; Griffey's popularity with the media and fans. INSETS: Hey, guys, watch your backs... by Wendy Cole & Julie Grace;As close to perfect a team as this... by Daniel Okrent;Gentle tamer of the brutes..

Announces that AT&T will be letting go of 40,000 employees, or 13 percent of its entire staff, about 70 percent of them before the end of 1996. Downsizing as standard operating procedure at most major companies; Why the announcement was a bombshell, despite AT&T having been bouncing people at an average rate of 900 a month since 1984; The significance of the AT&T layoffs to telecommunications; Criticism.

Discusses the effects of consolidation moves taken by telecommunications companies on the Internet landscape for United States cable operators. Changes in the content updates and touch ups of sites; Added services offered so consumers will feel comfortable with the sites; Decision of some sites to remain untouched despite the change in ownership.

Reports that Democrats see hopeful signs in some of the early voting patterns in the U.S. Comments of Dick Harpootlian, former chair of South Carolina's Democratic Party; The high voter turnout; Observation that Americans remain sharply and evenly divided between the two major parties; Importance of voters not strongly aligned with either party; Issue of so-called electability; Outlook for President George W. Bush's campaign.

Focuses on the cable system planned by Comcast to establish in Atlanta, Georgia. Condition of the cable television market in Atlanta; Information on the broadband merger of Comcast and AT&T; Details of the three systems created by Comcast for their operation in the city. INSETS: MEET THE OPERATOR;COMCAST;Comcast Atlanta Scarborough Research Profile.

Focuses on the cable television advertising of baseball games in the U.S., as of March 2003. Views on the advertising revenues in 2003; Role of cable in Major League Baseball's strategy for brand and audience building; Information on the high definition programming of ESPN network.

Describes the customer service approach initiated by Buckeye CableSystem in Toledo, Ohio. Changes made by the company to its customer service operations; Contents of the letters sent to Buckeye's customers; Services offered by the company. INSET: MEET THE OPERATOR.

Discusses the purchase of a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise by entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson in the U.S. Implications of the purchase for the possible creation of a cable network by Johnson; Details of the sale of the Black Entertainment Network business of Johnson to Viacom; Plans of Johnson for his NBA franchise. INSETS: BOB JOHNSON ON HIRING PRACTICES, A FRIEND NAMED TRENT AND. . .;ROBERT L. JOHNSON;BET UNDER VIACOM: THE SAME, ONLY BETTER.

Focuses on the business offered by high definition television (HDTV) to media service operators at retail outlets in the U.S. Relationship between the cable community and retail community; Impact of high-speed's success at retail; Reason for investing in advanced products like HD. INSET: G2B EXPANDS TO ALLOW VIDEO PRODUCT ORDERS.

Offers a look at the business operations of Comcast Cable in Indianapolis, Indiana. Competitors of Comcast; Accomplishments of Rusty Robertson as area vice president; Details of upgrades undertaken by the company. INSETS: MEET THE OPERATOR;COMCAST;Comcast Indianapolis Scarborough Research Profile.

Interviews television news anchor Lou Dobbs about his show 'Lou Dobbs Moneyline' and the cable industry in Manhattan, New York City. Reason behind the title of the show; Views on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack; Issues covered by his commentaries.

Reports on the impact of 2002 National Cable & Telecommunications Association convention in New Orleans, Louisiana on cable executives and vendors. Issues that affected optimism about the industry's future; Decrease in attendance record; Participants of the convention.

Features Comcast Cable Communications Inc. president Stephen Burke and the proposed merger of Comcast with AT&T Broadband in the U.S. as of May 2002. Management style of Burke; Cost of the proposed merger; Concern about the job security of Comcast employees if the merger pushes through; Contributions of Burke to Comcast. INSETS: BUILDING COMCAST;ABOUT STEPHEN BURKE.

Features cable television networks in the U.S. vying for more cable-subscribing sports fans. Percentage of Action Sports Cable Network's production that is high definition; Two branded sports networks of Comcast SportsNet; Amount that Empire Sports Network pays per year to air the hockey games.

Focuses on the pioneering efforts of investor Paul Allen and cable television industry veteran Jerald Kent in establishing wired telecommunication in Saint Louis, Missouri. Choice of the city as headquarters for Charter Communications; Market testing of broadband technology offerings.

Examines whether cable operators in the U.S. can keep charging consumers for ball games. Issue on the limited ability for cable distributors to pay sports programming rights; Background on the deal AOL Time Warner and Walt Disney Co. signed with the National Basketball Association; Issue on bargaining for sports rights.

Features several Web sites owned by trade organizations in the United States. Comments on the presentation of www.cablecenter.org; Specialization of the Cable Positive Web site; Suggestion for the enhancement of the site owned by Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau; Design of Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing Web site.

Reports on forecasts that local Internet sales maybe the next big growth area for United States cable operators. E-commerce; Handling of ad sales; Web opportunities for cable clients; Majority of e-commerce revenue generated locally; Infancy of web sales.

Focuses on copyright issues facing World Wide Web publishers in the United States. Details of `Washington Post' periodical's copyright infringement lawsuit against TotalNEWS; Techniques in enforcing copyright; Copyright approaches by Microsoft Corp. INSET: A few facts about copyright law..

Reports on the broadcasting of the February 2001 earthquake in Seattle, Washington on Tech TV. Ownership of the network by Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures Inc.; Broadcasting strategy of executive news director Harry Fuller; Broadcast's focus on working conditions, businesses, safety or injuries to people; Coverage of the earthquake by other news networks.

Reports the joint venture between Cablevision Systems Corp. and Primedia Inc. to launch a joint Internet service in New York. Types of information offered in the Internet service; Cross-promotions, sponsorship opportunities and advertising packages offered to advertisers; Impact of the partnership on both companies.

Reports on significant increases in United States viewership for the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2000 season. Benefit for broadcasting partners American Broadcasting Co. and ESPN and ESPN2; Highest-rated game in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 20 years; Increases in viewership in nonhockey markets and season/playoff numbers.

Reports on the participation of fewer cable television operators in the 2000 National Show in New Orleans, Louisiana. Impact of consolidation; Technologies introduced at the show; Interest shown by people from other industries towards cable business.

Focuses on the launch of ESPN HD, a high definition television broadcasting which hopes to be a catalyst to help grow the high definition (HD) television business in the U.S. Stance of Steve Burke, president of Comcast Cable, on extra charge for distributing HD network; Information on HD plan of Cox Communications; Reason for the decision of Cox Communications to get in on the ESPN show.

Focuses on the agreement between the National Broadcasting Co.(NBC) Inc. and Comcast Cable Communications Inc. wherein NBC would provide free news programs for the test launch of Comcast video-on-demand in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by September 2003. News programs included in the test; Estimated number of digital subscribers offered by Comcast across the Philadelphia region; Monthly digital subscription price; Explanation of time-shifting the local evening news.

Reports on the disconnection of cable television services of Comcast across the Denver area in Colorado. Reason behind the disconnection; Emergency plan by Comcast to alleviate the problem; Efforts of several volunteers to maintain cable operation at the Comcast Media Center in Denver.

Reports the investment and management deal entered into by Cequel III chief executive officer Jerry Kent with MSO Classic Communications. Estimated number of subscribers of MSO in states in the U.S.; Other companies that Kent plan to acquire; Background on MSO Classic.

Comments on the attendance of cable operators at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lesson learned by the operators from the show; Ways for the providers to deal with their customers; Information on the Go2Broadband initiative of CableLabs.

Focuses on the public dispute between Time Warner Cable and Fox Cable Networks over high double-digit rate increases in 2003. Impact of the rate increases on subscribers in Minnesota and Florida; Statements issued by executives from both cable operators.

Reports on the rise in cable television rates and decline in subscribers, according to a report by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission Ninth Annual Report on Video Competition released in January 2003. Reason behind the rate increase; Impact of cable consolidation on the industry; Statement issued by American Cable Association president Robert Sachs.

Focuses on the appointment of Matt Bond as executive vice president (EVP) of programming for Comcast Cable in the U.S. Work responsibilities; Contributions to AT&T Broadband, where he was previously EVP of programming.

Focuses on the rebranding campaign launched in the U.S. by AT&T Broadband, signing on Tour de France cyclist Lance Armstrong. Reason for the selection of Armstrong; Target markets.

Presents information on the plan of cable operators to increase its cable television rates of in the U.S. as of December 2, 2002. Comcast; Cablevision Systems; Time Warner Cable.

Presents updates on the merger process of AT&T Broadband and U.S. cable television firm Comcast Corp. as of November 2001. Possibility that the Federal Communications Commission will approve the merger; Preliminary operation plans of the two companies; Information on the settlement of a franchise dispute in Jacksonvill, Florida by Comcast Corp.

Reports on the deployment of a video-on-demand (VOD) service by AT&T Broadband in the U.S. as of October 2002. VOD markets of the company; Vision of the company for its VOD deployment initiatives; Significance of the VOD unit to the company's operation.

Reports on the deployment of a video-on-demand (VOD) service by Cox Communications in the U.S. as of October 2002. Ways to create revenue or value by launching on-demand programming; VOD deployment plans of the company; Significance of the VOD unit to the company's operation.

Reports on the deployment of the video-on-demand service by Charter Communications in the U.S. as of October 2002. VOD launches planned by the company by the end of 2002; Significance of the VOD unit to the company's operation; Marketing strategies adopted for VOD deployment.

Reports on the deployment of a video-on-demand service by Comcast Cable in the U.S. as of October 2002. Description of the VOD deployment initiated by Comcast in its Philadelphia, Pennsylvania market; Information on Comcast's pre-Philadelphia strategy according to chief executive Dave Watson; Marketing strategies adopted for VOD deployment.

Reports on the implementation of tighter regulations about public appearances by financial analysts in the U.S. Information on the required disclosures from financial analyst; Actions taken by cable television operators, CNBC and CNNfn; Responsibilities of producers and networks in regarding disclosures.

Reports on the dispute between the city of Jacksonville in Florida and At&T Broadband concerning customer service problems. Background of the case; Comments from AT&T on the statewide investigation of the case; Possible solutions to the problem.

Reports on the Major League Soccer (MLS) coverage of ESPN network in the U.S. in 2002. Average MLS rating; Comments from MLS executive Mark Noonan on the ratings; Result of the ESPN coverage of the World Cup.

Presents information on the strategy used by Cox, a marketing affiliate of cable television network ESPN, and AT&T Broadband to increase local advertisement sales for the July 2002 ESPYs special event in the U.S. Comments from Cable One executive Jerry McKenna on advertisement sales business; Development of a promotion for the ESPN 2-Minute Drill Contest; Features of ESPN that attract advertisers.

Reports that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is pushing U.S. cable television networks toward high definition television (HDTV). Factor that influences the cable industry attitude to HDTV; Concern of the FCC and the U.S. Congress about the issue; Companies with HDTV plans.